Indian Transplant Newsletter Vol. VI Issue NO.20/21. Jun-Oct 2005
Print ISSN 0972 - 1568

Organ Failure and Transplantation in Asia

Indian Transplant Newsletter.
Vol. VI Issue NO.20/21. Jun-Oct 2005
Print ISSN 0972 - 1568
Print PDF


Asia is the largest of the seven continents and has population of 3.6 billion people currently. It makes up 56% of the words population of 6.4 billion people. This region has 51 of the words 235 countries and it also has some of the fastest growing economics in the world, like China and India. The transplants done in Asia currently stand at 3 per million population transplants. The cadaver donation per million populations in various sub-continents of the world is USA -20.7, Europe -15.9, South America -2.6, Asia -1.1.

The burden of end-stage renal failure in Asia is growing rapidly. Blacks and Asians are three to four times more likely to develop end-stage renal failure then white people and this rises to eight times for older Asians. In comparison to the white population, Asians have five times the rate of diabetes and at least twice the rate of hypertension. These two conditions are, at present, major causes of end-stage renal disease in the world. There is an urgent need in Asia today to look at both issues – preventing kidney diseases and formulating strategies to increase the organ donation rates.

In the Asian contient, 18 countries do transplantations regularly and  of these 9 do multi –organ transplants. Japan seems to be doing the maximum transplants. There is not much data available from China, however, it is estimated that it too does as many transplantations as Japan. One of the strategies to increase the organ donation rates would be to promote cadaver donations. So far Asia, as a region, generally has failed to use this organ pool. The cadaver transplant Registry data - 2002 was started in Japan by Dr. Ota.   

Country

Kidney

Liver

Pancreas

 Pancreas -  Kidney

Heart 

Lung

 Heart - lung

Hong Kong

242

110

0

0

35

7

1

India

609

25

0

0

39

1

0

Japan

726

17

 

9

12

49

0

Korea

812

248

18

25

103

6

1

Malasia

262

1

0

0

8

0

0

Pakistan

9

0

0

0

0

0

0

Philippines

47

7

0

0

0

0

0

Saudi Arabia

363

77

0

0

18

6

0

Singapore

216

40

0

0

11

3

0

Taiwan

529

118

1

0

218

27

4

Thailand

425

67

0

0

16

7

11

Total

4240

710

19

34

460

106

17

Cadaver Transplant Registry data -2002

The Asian community is, by and large, a family-driven and male dominated community where the decision making, on important issues, rests on a senior member of the family. The continent also has a large population of all major religions. The Christian, Hindu and Buddhist communities have no real problem with the concept of brain death, and several descriptions in the scriptures indirectly support such a concept. As far as Islam is concerned, Turkey, the most liberal Muslim country and Saudi Arabia, the most conservative, have both passed the brain death legislation and are able to run a cadaver programme.  However, other countries like Pakistan have tried to pass a law but without success. By and large it now appears that the religious faith is not a major hindrance in implementing the programmes. The problem seems to be mainly of working out proper logistics, networking with each other and running an awareness programme on a large scale and highlighting the suffering of the patients with organ failure. Various studies from the regions also indicate the need to educate medical personnel about brain death and organ donation. There is no lack of resources in the region. What is required is implementing the following ten-point action plan:

1. Strengthening our platform for knowledge sharing.

2. Creating an organ sharing Asian network on similar lines as Euro- Transplant.

3. Undertaking collaborative projects and research within the group.

4. Earmarking resources separately to create awareness on Brain death.

5. Forming an Asian Network of Transplant Coordinators.

6. Frame a training module for transplant coordinators on similar lines as the Spanish model but with Asian relevance and taking into consideration the regional differences.

7. Having regular exchange of medical personnel between different programmes.

8. Have a common meeting forum for Asian patients like Asian Transplant Games so that some of them can be encouraged to take the organ donation movement forward.

9. Release a common bulletin of activities in the Asian region periodically.

10. Organising a Religion Conference with all major faiths and getting the religious heads to unanimously support the cause.  


To cite : Shroff S, Navin S. Organ Failure and Transplantation in Asia. Indian Transplant Newsletter Vol. VI Issue NO.20/21. Jun-Oct 2005.
Available at:
https://www.itnnews.co.in/indian-transplant-newsletter/issue20/21/EDITIORIAL-DESK-236.htm

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